SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In a win for consumer privacy, CR-supported Proposition 24 was approved by voters in California. The ballot measure, introduced by the original sponsors of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), will help strengthen the landmark privacy law that gives California consumers the right to access, delete, and stop the sale of their personal information to third parties.
Prop. 24 will address problems in the CCPA that CR has identified and worked to address since the measure was signed in 2018. It will fix loopholes that many of the biggest companies have exploited to continue delivering targeted advertising outside of the opt-out of sale, and will remove a provision, known as the “right to cure,” that undermines enforcement of the law. These provisions are scheduled to become operative on January 1, 2023.
“We commend Californians for taking action to protect their privacy. Despite the efforts of privacy advocates and key legislators in Sacramento, the legislature has not stepped up to fix significant loopholes in the CCPA,” said Maureen Mahoney, policy analyst at Consumer Reports. “We applaud this victory, but the fight isn’t over. We will continue to work with policymakers to lock in even stronger privacy protections, to ensure that privacy is guaranteed by default and that consumers are able to exercise their privacy rights free of charge.”
Consumer Reports has played a leading role in ensuring that the CCPA works for consumers. CR has documented companies’ efforts to avoid complying with the CCPA since it went into effect in January 2020, and pointed out the difficulties that consumers have faced in exercising their new privacy rights. CR also fought on behalf of consumers for numerous pieces of legislation to strengthen the CCPA, and defended the CCPA from being weakened by a flurry of industry-supported bills in the 2019 legislative session.
Contact: Cyrus Rassool, cyrus.rassool@consumer.org